Chapter 36
Gon The courtyard torches vanished behind me as I slipped into the treeline, boots barely whispering against the damp earth. My wolf burned to break free, to chase, to rip. But I forced the change back, not yet. Not when eyes might still be watching the palace walls. Behind me, three of the strongest guards peeled from their posts to follow, loyal to the silent signal their king had given. I caught their scents as they fanned out—iron, sweat, wolf-musk—each distinct, each trusted. These weren’t green recruits. These were men who had hunted alongside me through fire and storm. Bool-He’s stench lingered like rot in the night. I slowed, dropping to a crouch, letting my fingertips graze the soil. The earth still held the heat of his passing, his foul aura like a greasy film on my tongue. I
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